Democracy VS Republic
What form of government do we have in the USA anyway?
We can always debate the finer points but to put it simply, a democracy is “rule by the majority” and a republic is a “rule by law”. The distinction here is more important than most US citizens realize. Let’s take a look at the difference.
Let’s say Mr. Smith had worked hard as a young man and bought a plot of land 10 miles out side of his home town of Pleasantville. Over many years, he had worked hard and paid for the land in full and had been able to work the land through careful planning and irrigation to build a rather fine grape vineyard producing some of the best grapes, wine, raisins, grape juice and jelly in all the land.
A Democracy (rule by mob):
Seeing how fine the vineyard was and how Mr. Smith had prospered, the town councilmen took a look at their overworked budget and proposed a vote to the citizens that Mr. Smith’s land should rightfully become the property of the town and therefore be divided up amongst the good citizens of Pleasantville. By majority vote, this proposal was passed overwhelmingly and the land became the property of the town. Everyone was delighted and very happy except Mr. Smith. There could be no consoling Mr. Smith and so he had raised such a fuss about all of this the town folk voted to put Mr. Smith in prison for unbecoming behavior which was very unpleasant to the erudite and sophisticated sensibilities of the refined citizens of Pleasantville. Everyone was horrified at Mr. Smith’s words and angry outburst in public and couldn’t tolerate such behavior.
A Republic (rule by law):
If Mr. Smith in the story above lived under the protection of the rule of law or a republic, a simple majority vote couldn’t have deprived him of his property or freedom. The city councilmen would have had their powers limited by the rule of law. Mr. Smith would have been provided certain rights and been protected by the rule of law, due process and the rights guaranteed to him by a constitution and bill of rights.
The US founding fathers were keenly aware of this distinction and that is why the Constitution and The Bill of rights limit the power of the government. These documents are your shield and are there to protect you. When our educators, politicians and news media continually preach about the democracy please remember that this is a representative REPUBLIC and not a democracy.
Do you pledge allegiance to the Democracy or the Republic?
From the American View…
http://www.theamericanview.com/index.php?id=11
As the story goes, at the close of the Constitutional Convention, a woman asked Benjamin Franklin what type of government the Constitution was bringing into existence. Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
It has been baldly asserted that in a Democracy, majority rules, whereas in a Republic, Law rules. Consider, in a Democracy, there is no need for a Constitution, since the majority can simply change Law at a whim. In a Republic, there is a Law above the government, and in our case there is a written Constitution.
Definitions from Wikipedia…
The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States. It provides the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government to the states, to citizens, and to all people within the United States.
In the United States, the Bill of Rights is the name by which the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution are known.
